House Speaker Paul Ryan Meets With Florida School Shooting Survivors to Talk Gun Control

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High school students who survived a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, earlier this month, met with high-profile congressional leaders this week, including House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday.

Ryan expressed a willingness for “moving quickly” on proposals to address gun violence after Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students urged the Wisconsin Republican for action, according to Florida Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch, who represents Parkland, Florida and who attended the meeting.

Asked if the speaker was open to the things they wanted, Deutch said the students have been clear in pushing specifically for a ban on assault-style weapons, banning high-capacity magazines and universal background checks, but that Ryan made it clear some of those things don’t have broad support. All three of those proposals appear to have significant opposition in both chambers in Congress.

“They had a good discussion about the Constitution, about constitutional rights,” Deutch said. “The students are very well-versed on the Second Amendment.”

Students and alumni from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., arrive for a meeting with Speaker Paul Ryan at his offices in the U.S. Capitol Feb. 27, 2018, in Washington, D.C. Survivors of the Valentine’s Day mass shooting that left 17 students and faculty dead are meeting with lawmakers in the aftermath of the tragedy. (Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

He said the students pressed for a debate on the floor and a vote and the speaker was open to moving something.

“These students understand that the reason they came up here is to make sure that this debate doesn’t stop, that they’re not going to let it stop,” Deutch said.

Earlier Tuesday during a news conference, Ryan signaled he isn’t supportive of the proposals to impose new restrictions on gun purchases, telling reporters “we shouldn’t be banning guns for law-abiding citizens.”

Students and alumni from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., arrive for a meeting with Speaker Paul Ryan at his offices in the U.S. Capitol Feb. 27, 2018, in Washington, D.C. Survivors of the Valentine’s Day mass shooting that left 17 students and faculty dead are meeting with lawmakers in the aftermath of the tragedy. (Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Of course we want to listen to these kids, but we also want to make sure that we protect people’s due process rights and legal constitutional rights while making sure that people who should not get guns don’t get them,” Ryan said. “This kid was clearly one of those people.”